The new display servers
Changing of the Guard
The X Window System, which dates to the 1980s, still forms the basis of Linux's graphical user interface, but it does cause some despair among developers with its legacy ballast and outmoded technology. Wayland and Mir are two promising candidates for the changing of the guard.
The good old X Window System consists of an X server that receives events from input devices and draws the graphics on the screen. On top of this system is a compositor, which records the positions of Windows and adds novel graphical effects as needed (Figure 1). Desktop environments add a window manager that decorates every window with a frame.
All of these components need to communicate through a time-consuming process. The cumbersome structure and outdated complexity of the X system bothered programmer Kristian H¯gsberg, so he designed an alternative back in 2008, which he dubbed Wayland [1]. H¯gsberg kept to the core functions that a display system currently needs to provide on Linux. He also set out to design Wayland so that it would avoid tearing, lag, flicker, and unnecessary redrawing of modified screen areas [2].
The result was a surprisingly sleek and efficient system. Media reports increasingly attracted the attention of supporters to H¯gsberg's new display server architecture.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
UN Creates Open Source Portal
In a quest to strengthen open source collaboration, the United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology has created a new portal.
-
Latest Linux Kernel RC Contains Changes Galore
Linux kernel 7.0-rc3 includes more changes than have been made in a single release in recent history.
-
Nitrux 6.0 Now Ready to Rock Your World
The latest iteration of the Debian-based distribution includes all kinds of newness.
-
Linux Foundation Reports that Open Source Delivers Better ROI
In a report that may surprise no one in the Linux community, the Linux Foundation found that businesses are finding a 5X return on investment with open source software.
-
Keep Android Open
Google has announced that, soon, anyone looking to develop Android apps will have to first register centrally with Google.
-
Kernel 7.0 Now in Testing
Linus Torvalds has announced the first Release Candidate (RC) for the 7.x kernel is available for those who want to test it.
-
Introducing matrixOS, an Immutable Gentoo-Based Linux Distro
It was only a matter of time before a developer decided one of the most challenging Linux distributions needed to be immutable.
-
Chaos Comes to KDE in KaOS
KaOS devs are making a major change to the distribution, and it all comes down to one system.
-
New Linux Botnet Discovered
The SSHStalker botnet uses IRC C2 to control systems via legacy Linux kernel exploits.
-
The Next Linux Kernel Turns 7.0
Linus Torvalds has announced that after Linux kernel 6.19, we'll finally reach the 7.0 iteration stage.